1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to blenders and frozen beverage apparatus, and more particularly to a blender hopper or container with a side wall having an upper portion with a polygonal configuration and a lower portion with a different polygonal configuration, which is particularly suited for blending and maintaining the consistency of slush beverages.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
xe2x80x9cSlushxe2x80x9d beverages, as the term is used herein, are defined as a thick semi-frozen beverage having a semi-solid ice consistency, similar to partly melted snow, and consist of a mixture of flavored liquid or syrup, frozen crystals of the liquid or syrup, and other materials. Examples of slush beverages are frozen cocktails, such as a xe2x80x9cfrozen margaritaxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdaiquirixe2x80x9d, and flavored soft drinks or carbonated drinks, such as the popular beverages known commercially as an xe2x80x9ciceexe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cslurpyxe2x80x9d which are available at convenience stores and fast food chains.
Special machines have been provided for making carbonated slush beverages and frosted drinks consisting of a slush of ice crystals mixed with a flavoring ingredient such as a fruit-flavored syrup. There have also been attempts to use such machines for making slush cocktails such as margaritas, pina coladas, daiquiris and the like. These attempts have not been entirely successful, however, due to the relatively low capacity of the machines. The liquid to be frozen is generally delivered to the machine where it is frozen and held until it is dispensed. Such machines typically can hold only about one gallon of frozen product, and where a greater volume is required, e.g. in a large restaurant, a number of machines must be employed. These machines are relatively expensive, and although in at least one prior art installation the dispensing heads have been separated from the remainder of the machines, the machines are bulky and require a substantial amount of floor space.
Blenders are also used for making slush cocktails such as margaritas, pina coladas, daiquiris and the like. Usually, ice cubes or crushed ice are put into the along with an appropriate amount of the liquor for flavoring and potency and in some instances a fruit flavoring, i.e., lime, strawberry, banana, or the like. The blending together of these constituent materials would create the slush cocktail.
However, problems can occur resulting in inconsistency of taste of one drink mixture with respect to the next. Conventional blenders can cause cavitation which draws oxygen into the mixture, and can detract from the intended flavoring of the drink. Additionally, excess blending can induce heat energy into the drink, melt the ice cubes, and thus water down the drink reducing its preferred flavoring and minimizing the alcohol content per unit volume. Another problem with conventional blenders is that as soon as the blending stops, the liquid tends to separate from the ice particles, and settle to the bottom with the ice particles at the top of the container. And often the blender containing the mixture will sit for a period of time at room temperature before another drink is poured. This also results in a watered-down drink and diminished flavor and alcoholic potentency.
Also, because of its viscosity, the slush beverage mixture when prepared in a conventional blender will tend to merely spin around the central axis of the container, which results in insufficient blending and will render a drink having a different flavor, consistency, and alcoholic potency from the top of the container to the bottom.
Even in a large restaurant or bar where a greater volume is required, the blender used for these types of drinks only has a capacity of about one gallon of frozen product. The larger the blender container, the greater the risk of improper blending, and unsatisfactory consistency, flavor and alcoholic potency. Thus, a large number of machines must be employed, and more time spent in preparation of small batches.
Also, the conventional blender container is not suitable for storing and dispensing a slush beverage, because there is no provision for agitating the slush to maintain its consistency. If a metal container is used, portions of the mixture will freeze onto the side wall interior.
There are several patents which disclose various polygonal bowls and containers for kitchen blender and mixer appliances.
Landgraf, U.S. Pat. No. 2,284,155 discloses a food mixer having a bowl with a wall having a circular bottom portion and an upwardly diverging side wall preferably in the form of a hexagon with longitudinal baffles along the interior of the flat sides.
Kochner et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,585,255 discloses a food mixer having a bowl with a wall having a circular bottom portion and an upwardly diverging side wall in the form of an octagon.
Malz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,758,623 discloses a liquifier having a bowl with a wall having a square bottom wall and an upwardly diverging side wall in the form of a square with longitudinal major and minor ribs along the interior of the flat sides.
Rebordosa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,034 discloses a working bowl for an electrically powered domestic kitchen appliance which includes with a wall having the form of a substantially regular polygon with at least five and preferably fifteen sides wherein food items are rapidly comminuted.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages discussed above and is distinguished over the prior art in general and these patents in particular by a blender and blender hopper wherein the blender hopper has a contiguous annular side wall with a larger upper portion having a first polygonal configuration with a number of sides and a smaller lower portion having a second polygonal configuration with twice the number of sides of the upper portion. In a preferred embodiment the upper portion has four sides in the form of a square and the lower portion has eight sides in the form of an octagon and a bottom wall adjoining the lower portion. The size of the lower portion is about one-half the size of the upper portion, and the height of the hopper is about the same as the width of the open top portion, and has a capacity to hold about three gallons. Four narrower triangular side walls extend upwardly and outwardly from the diagonal sides of the bottom wall and adjoin the four corners of the upper portion, respectively, and four wider truncated wedge-shaped walls extend upwardly and outwardly from the four orthogonal sides of the bottom wall with their wider ends adjoining the four sides of the upper portion, respectively, and inwardly protruding longitudinal rib is formed in each of the wider truncated wedge-shaped walls. A tubular dispensing conduit is secured in an aperture in one of the wider walls and a dispensing valve is connected to its outer end. A cutter blade assembly mounted in the bottom wall crushes ice and in combination with the dual polygonal side wall configuration, thoroughly blends the liquid and ice to form the slush mixture and maintains its consistency.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved blender and blender hopper apparatus and method for creating, blending, and dispensing slush beverages.
It is another object of the invention to provide a blender, blender hopper, and method, which is capable of producing slush beverages in substantially greater volume than the machines heretofore provided.
Another object of this invention is to provide a blended and blender hopper which consistently and accurately maintain a prescribed product slush thickness and flavor.
Another object of this invention is to provide a blender and blender hopper for slush beverages wherein a single unit crushes the ice, blends it with liquid ingredients, maintains the desired consistency, and also serves as the dispenser
Another object of this invention is to provide a blender hopper that can be easily and quickly installed on a variety of commercially available blender bases.
A further object of this invention is to provide a blender hopper having a side wall configuration that will optimize the blending of slush material in the hopper.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a blender hopper which is simple in construction, and rugged and reliable in operation.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
The above noted objects and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a blender hopper having a contiguous annular side wall with a larger upper portion having a first polygonal configuration with a number of sides and a smaller lower portion having a second polygonal configuration with twice the number of sides of the upper portion. In a preferred embodiment the upper portion has four sides in the form of a square and the lower portion has eight sides in the form of an octagon and a bottom wall adjoining the lower portion. The size of the lower portion is about one-half the size of the upper portion, and the height of the hopper is about the same as the width of the open top portion, and has a capacity to hold about three gallons. Four narrower triangular side walls extend upwardly and outwardly from the diagonal sides of the bottom wall and adjoin the four corners of the upper portion, respectively, and four wider truncated wedge-shaped walls extend upwardly and outwardly from the four orthogonal sides of the bottom wall with their wider ends adjoining the four sides of the upper portion, respectively, and inwardly protruding longitudinal rib is formed in each of the wider truncated wedge-shaped walls. A tubular dispensing conduit is secured in an aperture in one of the wider walls and a dispensing valve is connected to its outer end. A cutter blade assembly mounted in the bottom wall crushes ice and in combination with the dual polygonal side wall configuration, thoroughly blends the liquid and ice to form the slush mixture and maintains its consistency.